Don't get burned: 9 stocks are summer bummers

The fear of getting burned by stocks in the summer urges some investors just to pack up and skip it. And when you see the dismal performance of a few stocks, you might understand why.

Watch out for nine stocks in the Standard & Poor’s 500, including Corning (GLW), Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Staples (SPLS) that have lagged the market in each of the past five summers, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data from S&P Capital IQ. Talk about a cruel, cruel summer.

The fact investors like to split during the summer even might offer up some explanations for the stocks that suffer from severe summer doldrums. Less interest in money and all things finance during the summer is bad — especially if you’re in the money business.

The hardest hit stock in the summer’s past is specialty glass maker, Corning (GLW). Last summer, the company’s shares rose 2.9%, which might sound fine, until you realize the S&P 500 gained 7.4% last summer. Corning’s worst summer was the summer of 2011, which shares dropped 30.1% while the S&P 500 fell just 12.3.

Don’t worry too, much, though. Despite the summer’s horrible reputation the past five summers haven’t been dismal. The average gain of summers the past five years is 4.2%, and that includes the 12% decline in the summer of 2011. And certainly, there are stocks that buck the summer doldrums and do just fine.

The summer’s bad rap is so overblown that one of the summer’s consistently lagging stocks, computer chipmaker Analog Devices (ADI), posted an average summer gain of 1.4% over the past five years despite trailing the market each and every year.

There’s no way to know, of course, if these stocks will lag the market again this summer. But if analysts who follow the companies’ trends the closest are right, it’s looking like it could be another cruel summer.

Just one of the stocks gets a 4-star rating from S&P Capital, which corresponds with “buy,” in addition to an “attractive” rating from stock research firm New Constructs. That stock is financial State Street (STT). New Constructs determines if stocks are too expensive, or cheap, by comparing the current stock price with the present future of expected cash flows.

The other eight stocks get S&P Capital IQ “hold” ratings of 3 stars or lower. And five of the stocks get either a scary “very dangerous” or lukewarm “neutral” rating from New Constructs. Not exactly enough to give investors confidence given the track records.

If you own these stocks, you might want to make sure you have some sunscreen handy.

Below are the nine stocks in the S&P 500 that have trailed the market’s gains in each and every of the past five summers: